


With Her Mind Unrest

by CreativeCalavera



Series: A Warped Caretaker [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, OC is brain tired.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23049322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreativeCalavera/pseuds/CreativeCalavera
Summary: Book 5.The human traveler has mastered the strange void laboratory. Now she looks for the answer that lies before her eyes, unable to rest. After traveling to numerous alternate universes, she believes she's not home yet. The threat of Nightmare has finally reached her. The Skeleton monster, Sans, and Frisk must work together to save Calypso from Nightmare's influence and stop the birth of a potential war.Undertale belongs to Toby Fox.Dreamtale belongs to Jokublog.Calypso and Stradakum belongs to CreativeCalavera (me).
Series: A Warped Caretaker [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614217
Kudos: 5





	1. The Amnesiac Effect

In the Original Undertale timeline, where Calypso was first separated from the Skeleton brothers, Gaster’s lab incident was historical but forgotten.

_The ground rumbled. A flash of light surrounded Gaster’s lab building before small explosions wrecked the building. The monster residents of hotlands were in a panic._

_Back at Asgore’s castle, Papyrus was playing with jigsaw puzzles on the floor of his shared bedroom. Sans was in the kitchen, checking over the servants cooking food. He stole a piece of the monster fruit before he tumbled by the sudden earthquake. The shaking lasted a minute. Everyone was frantic._

_Sans quickly ran to his brother’s room in Asgore’s castle. “Paps?!” There was a cloaked figure holding Papyrus. The Skeleton toddler sniffed and held onto the stranger. Sans, thinking it was Calypso, sighed in relief. “I thought you were in the lab, mum.”_

_The cloaked figure cocked their head to the side. “Tra la la, you’re already calling me mum?”_

_Sans froze, taking a step closer. Papyrus was also confused. One of his hands reach to the hood and the stranger pulled their head away. “Ah ah ah,” they tsk’ed, “You shouldn’t do that, young one.”_

_Their voice was clear and light, but it wasn’t their mum’s voice. Their cloak was purple. Sans noticed a strap on their back. It held a rowing paddle._

_Sans was about to question them further until Asgore came in. “Young Skeletons! There has been an incident at the hotlands!”_

_Sans’ heart ached with fear. “That’s where mum is!” he shouted. Asgore, who was alarmed, changed his expression. He raised an eyebrow, “Your mother?” Sans nodded. The king cleared his throat, “Um, well, your guardian is right here.” He gestured to the cloaked stranger._

_Papyrus felt his body being rocked gently. The stranger started humming a familiar tune._

_“River Person. They’re taking you in today.”_

_Sans was lost. “What about mum? You know, Calypso. And Gaster?!”_

_Asgore gave him a worried look. “I’m sorry, young one. There is no one by that name here.” Two Dog Guards were heard stomping through the hallway with their metal boots. Asgore looked at them before he started retreating, “I must attend the meeting regarding the hotland incident. Please have some rest.”_

_“Wait-!” Sans was about to reach out and grab his cape but didn’t. A sense of hopeless froze his movements. He felt a sudden wave of energy going through the land early, besides the earthquake._

_“Asgore doesn’t remember Gaster,” he concluded, “Or mum. But I can.” An unsettling feeling lingered in his soul. He took out a device in his pocket._

_Calypso’s smartphone. Since it doesn’t connect to slow wireless network, Calypso given up on her phone. It was the only thing left of her; besides her red scarf she gave to Papyrus._

_By holding her dead phone in his hands, Sans had an idea. “If I can extract my own energy,” he thought, “And break down mum’s phone, I can build my own machine.” He heard a small sniff from the Skeleton toddler._

_He turned to River Person, who was humming and helping Papyrus relax. Speaking of, his little brother felt a bit unease. “Shams, where mum?”_

_“Okay, he remembers,” Sans thought. If Asgore, who was Gaster’s employer and friend, doesn’t remember the ghoul, then it affected the rest of the underground. His smile tightened at his hypothesis. “Mum-.” He hesitated, “She…”_


	2. Milk

“That she went out for milk!” Papyrus finished. “Sans told me she’s looking for the holy monster cow! That’s why mother’s taking so long.”

He held a drawing of the family tree. The tree was rather small. It started with a pair of Skeleton grandparents, the mother, a cloaked figure, and lastly the Skeleton brothers.

Calypso covered her mouth, “Oh my god.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, “That’s awful.” Papyrus’ drawing about the mother was questionable, as if he doesn’t remember what she looks like.

Frisk noticed Sans sweating nervously. They knew he was hiding something. Sans shifted uncomfortably, “Yeah, well… Things happen.”

After the picnic, Toriel left Frisk to the Skeletons’ care for an urgent errand. The woman tried to dismiss herself, bit she experienced something entirely new.

Determination. The pure power of Frisk, besides Flirt. The child mostly attached themselves to her leg and she couldn’t run away. She can’t risk showing off her teleportation powers either.

That explains why Calypso found herself at the Skeletons’ apartment. The whole structure was new. It wasn’t the same wooden house anymore. The room had a tan brown carpet and the walls were a light pastel blue. Portraits decorated the space with scenes of the Skeleton brothers, Frisk, and other people having fun. One of them was Sans in an Observatory.

The woman and Frisk were seated in the living room couch. 

Well, mostly Calypso. Frisk decided to sit on her lap. Sans joined them on the couch when Papyrus started explaining their story as an icebreaker for Calypso.

There was mentions of Mr. and Mrs. Skeleton, but he referred them as his grandparents.

Papyrus rolled up his family tree drawing and cleared his throat. “Yes, so after mother left, River Person raised me in the capitol before Sans and I moved to Snowdin.”

Calypso raised an eyebrow. “River Person?” she questioned. There is no mention of Gaster. She wanted to ask, but maybe he doesn’t exist in the current timeline.

Papyrus nodded, “Yep! And now we’re here! In the surface!” Calypso narrowed her eyes.

“So, there’s an underground here,” she thought. Quickly, she shook her head. “Why should I care?” Her data collection became a force-of-habit. Her thoughts were more calculating than simple observation.

A soft snore echoed. Calypso looked down. Frisk fell asleep. She smiled before picking Frisk up and laying their body on the couch. They didn’t wake.

Calypso smiled to herself, “Now I can leave.”

Sans noticed a glint in her eye. Since she appeared, he’s trying to figure her out.

He noticed how distant she was acting. She looked exactly the same as the Calypso that disappeared years ago, but her vibe is somehow different. Her gentle eyes held a sense of void and disturbance. Like she had seen or experienced heavy incidents.

“Is it amnesia?” he thought. It doesn’t make sense. _She_ doesn’t make sense.

Papyrus looked at his watch and gasped, “My bedtime!” He started running up the stairs. He promised Calypso they’ll hang out later.

Sans came up with a plan and rose from the couch. He started walking to the kitchen. “Cal, do you mind if we have a quick chat? Papyrus is going to sleep.”

Cal, who never took off her poncho or gloves, was already prepared to leave. No more Skeleton business.

Calypso quickly shook her head, “No can do. I gotta skedaddle.”

Her familiar choice of words stung his soul. Sans frowned. He is looking for the right time to have a private chat with her, the mum look-alike. It was weird that Frisk found her out-of-nowhere, napping under a tree.

“I’m back!”

At the right timing, Toriel returned. She handed Calypso a few motel brochures.

The goat monster had snooped for the nearest motels as a favor to the lost human traveler. Calypso noticed a similar picture on a motel brochure. There was a flower shop next to it. The flower shop was called, “Flower King.”

Calypso smiled gently to herself. She reminisced her old friend Asgore and his flower shop.

“Some things never change,” she thought to herself.

Calypso bowed, which was a force of habit, to Toriel before rushing out the Skeleton’s house.

“Thanks, Toriel! I’ll be off now!”

Sans panicked mentally. The stranger who called herself Calypso is going away.

Toriel picked up the sleeping Frisk from the couch and turned to the front door. She saw the short Skeleton’s position.

“Sans?” she asked.

Sans was reaching his hand out midair. Calypso had disappeared, teleporting away. This moment reminded him of his younger self in the underground. When he reached out for King Asgore after the hotlands incident. He put his arm down and turn to Toriel.

She noticed a pained look in his eyes. “It’s nothing,” he said.

For now, he’ll stay back and snoop a little. After all, snooping runs in the family.


	3. An Apology Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happened when Calypso stepped into the Undertale timeline. Asgore's memories, along with other monsters, had been affected. The Goat delivers an apology gift.

Asgore had a strange day today.

Since Frisk freed the monsters from the underground, he worked as a gardener for a monster-human school that Toriel helped established. Slowly, after another year, he opened his first flower shop and began running it for a few months.

Today, he had a peaceful morning until noon.

In that noon, Calypso had stepped into the Undertale timeline and took a nap under the tree. Upon her arrival, an invisible wave of energy washed over the area.

Asgore was tending the succulents on a slow day. When the wave hit him, he had visions of Calypso.

Her smile, her gentle handling of small Papyrus, and her plans to have a vacation home at Snowdin. He recollects her expression when he gave her a pair of gloves. Her sudden arrival to the hotlands changed everything. She had spite with… someone.

Asgore realized he was over-watering the succulents. His claws quickly put the watering can away. He switched the sign of “Open” to “Close” on the front window. He leaned to the cashier stool and gave a deep sigh.

Calypso was close to someone. Another monster at the royal laboratory. There is someone else missing from his memories.

A pang of guilt, a new type of guilt, stabbed his soul. He remembered young Sans asking about his mum.

“So, he was right after all,” he mumbled, “I should apologize to him.”

Right after he remembered, his store telephone rings. Numerous calls. When he answered the first call, they were acquaintances.

They were monster servants who worked at his underground castle. The former royal chef and a collective group of former maids, who now have a book club, called Asgore to question their memories.

They also remembered Calypso. During the calls, he glanced at the succulents. One bead of water shine with the window sunlight. He sweat nervously. 

"Yes, I remember too- No, you're not crazy," he spoke into the phone, "Let's talk this over sometime this week. Yes, you too. Good day." He closed the last call of the day. One of his claws disconnected the phone line from the wall. He needs space to think over his memories.

As Asgore locked his store early, Toriel was leaving a motel nearby. She noticed him outside the gates and waved. “Oh! You’re locking the store early?”

The former king nodded and start a small chat with her. Toriel told him that she made a new friend, a human traveler. She took out other brochures of motels she stopped by.

“I’ll suggest your flower shop if she choose this motel,” she said. She looked over his face and furrowed her eyebrows. His eyes were dazed. Like he was spacing out.

“Are you alright, Asgore?”

The golden-haired goat broke out of his thoughts. “Yes, sorry. I remembered about a dear friend of me,” he said, fumbling his hands, “So I’mma go give an apology gift-.”

In his hands, there was a succulent in a light grey pot. The pot was shaped as a cloud.

“I don’t remember taking this out my store,” he thought.

Impulsively, he beamed at Toriel. “I’ll treat myself with some tea before meeting with my friend.” He later asked if she needed anything from him. Toriel frowned. She knows him more than anyone.

“Frisk is at the Skeleton’s house. I will pick them up soon in the late afternoon,” she said, “We’ll see you at home.”

Asgore widen his eyes. “Oh! In that case!” He pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Toriel. On his other hand, he offered the succulent too. “Please pass this along to Sans,” he said. Toriel narrowed her eyes. He sweatdropped. “Sure, but you have to tell me what’s going on.” He nodded feverishly.

After she left, Asgore glanced at his front window of his store. Other succulents were glistening with beads of water. He noticed that most pots were in regular shaped pots with grey and beige colors. The succulents were mostly green and blue. The one he gave to Toriel were green and red with blue tones.

He didn’t realize he grab the cloud-shaped potted succulent until Toriel came by.

Was he spacing out when he took the succulent?

…

When Toriel returned to the Skeleton’s house, Calypso was trying to dismiss herself from Sans’ persistence. After the goat monster surprised her with motel brochures, the human woman left with a rushed dismissal to her and Sans.

The goat lady smiled to herself. “My, Calypso is such a busy person,” she thought. She took the napping Frisk from the couch and noticed Sans at the front door. He had a lost look in his eyes.

However, Sans excused his behavior and was ready to escort Toriel and Frisk to the door. The goat monster remembered Asgore’s delivery in her basket.

One of her arms secured Frisk on her hip while her other hand carefully revealed a succulent from her basket.

“Asgore told me to give this to you,” she said. Sans raise an eyebrow and took it.

It was a Minima succulent. Sans knew because Calypso is from a Hispanic heritage. Sans and Papyrus would visit Calypso’s parents and see Minima succulents by every window frame.

In the current timeline, the world wasn’t exact as his Delta Rune timeline. There were parallels, but it wasn’t the same. In truth, the succulent shouldn’t exist in the Undertale timeline.

“He has a card for you too.” His eyelights gaze at Toriel’s claw. She held a white envelope with a golden flower wax seal stamp. He thanked her before waving Toriel goodnight. He watched as she carried Frisk back home before he closed the door.

He placed the pot to the coffee table and opened the envelope. The cover page had a print of a watercolor painting. It showed warm colored teacups. On the third page, there was a “Birthday” poem, but it was crossed out with a large inked X. The second page was written with Asgore’s note. Sans read it and widen his eyes.

“Dear Sans,

I’m sorry about your mother. I remember now. Let’s have some tea.

Silly Goatman,

Asgore. “

Sans read the same sentence again. The “I remember now” line.

His grin tightened. “What is going on here?!”

On the coffee table, a water bead slid down the petal of the succulent.


	4. Conspiracy Board

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso is at the motel. Her research is going nowhere. She goes to the underground for clues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! I uploaded a chapter ahead instead of this one. I fixed it. For old readers who caught my mistake, re-read chapters 4 and 5 again.

On the motel, the building was two floors. On the upper floor, on door 2-D, there was a single bedroom and one bathroom. The bed was made, but the wall above the headstand was a mess. There was masking tape and papers with strings leading to one and the other. Most papers were drawings with coordinate numbers. The floor was neatly vacuumed, and the nightstand was polished. The drawers within are untouched. A maid tried to pry it open, but there was a binding spell.

After dealing with the chores, the maid left. Right after the front door closed, a magic circle appeared in thin air. It hovered over the bed.

A leg stepped through before the whole body fell forward.

Calypso yelped before she landed on the bed. She glanced at the whirling portal. On the other end, it was the same lab. Her pocket of void.

Her robot, Cuz, waved a mechanical arm as a dismissal. “See you later, creator!”

She frowned and raise her hand forward. “Ciérrense.” The portal sealed itself and disappeared.

Calypso pulled a pillow to her face and groaned. “This isn’t working!”

For a few weeks, Calypso was experimenting with the portals in her lab. In her bedroom, she took showers and wrote new notes on the wall. However, time was paced differently in the Undertale timeline and in her lab. In technical terms, she could spent days in her lab and an hour would pass in the current timeline. The wall had montage that took 3 weeks of research.

So far, one whole day had passed in the Undertale timeline.

In the lab, Calypso tried finding coordinates to the original timeline. However, it keeps landing to the same one. A Pacifist Undertale timeline.

Cuz wasn’t helping either. It said that the magic is telepathically linked to her, so a portal should open to a place she wants to go to. Calypso couldn’t grasp the fact that the timeline she’s living in right now is where the original Sans and Papyrus are living in.

When she thinks of young Papyrus, the portal opens to the same timeline. When she reminiscences Sans’ troublemaking habits, the portal resorts to the same destination. Even the thought of the original Gaster led her to the same timeline.

What Calypso doesn’t understand yet is her home right in front of her.

Calypso sat up in her bed. She hugged her pillow. “I need a shower,” she paused, “And a breather.”

…

After a nice cleansing, Calypso dressed in her usual attire. A flowy lavender purple dress shirt, grey flowy dress pants, and a pair of tan-brown combat boots. A layer of a tan brown poncho dressed over her shoulders. The black fanny pack is secured around her waist. Her hands wore the same brown gloves.

Cal glanced herself at the bathroom mirror. Whenever she sees her usual outfit, it reminds her of X-Tale Papyrus. He was the one who gave her a new pair of gloves and the poncho.

“Huh, I wonder how he’s doing,” she mumbled, securing the ends of the gloves to her wrist.

She walked to the drawer and deactivated her binding spell. The drawer slowly slide open. There was a leather binder with paper in it. Most papers were locked with the metal rings. Some looked like they were shoved into. Calypso pulled a new loose-leaf paper from the pockets. She placed it onto the cover of the binder.

“Okay, here we go.”

Calypso teleported to the park. In her hands, there was a binder and a charcoal stick.

Her eyes roam the sky. The sky was dimming dark. “It’s late afternoon.”

One of her hands dug into her fanny pack and touched the charcoal dust. She squatted to the grass and looked around. The park was vacant besides small animals.

Calypso drew a magic circle on the ground.

“Well, if I can’t find answers up here,” she said. The portal showed a familiar snowy place. She smiled, “Then maybe I could find some answers down there.” She stepped in and fall into the portal. She glanced up and ordered the portal to close.

As her body was nearing the ground. Calypso summoned a cloud to cushion the fall. A grey cloud loom under her feet and slowly evaporated as it touched the floor.

Calypso looked up and recognized the wooden house. The former house of the Skeleton brothers in Snowdin. She looked around the town. There was no presence of anyone. All of the monsters moved into the surface.

The woman stretched before entering the wooden house. “I’ll start with this place and then snoop other houses. Maybe Gaster, Lab Person, or whomever smart guy left some important notes.”

The quiet white noise of the empty underground spooked her. The eerie feeling reminded her of the Horror Timeline. Her body instantly shivers at the memory.

Calypso shook her head and took a deep breath. “Focus, Cal. Focus.”

There were three bedrooms. Two of them were completely clean and empty. The first bedroom by the stairs had marks over the door. As if there was tape and stickers onto it before. On the third bedroom, there was a sock on the floor. Nothing suspicious.

The second bedroom, however, was blocked by a certain spell. Calypso knew because there was a faint door frame on the wall. There was a rectangular dark mark too, like a painting was hung. She teleported in.

Calypso opened her eyes. The room was about the same as the other rooms. There was the burgundy painted walls and the zig-zag stripped carpet. The carpet colors were dark blue and normal violent. However, this room was not empty. There was a vacant bookshelf and a wooden desk with a small shelf at its headboard. There was a large yellow envelope on the desk.

The room looked like it was never used. Prepared, but never occupied.

The woman walked to the desk and leaned against the strong edge. Her hands traced at the yellow envelope. The backside was facing towards her, so she turned it to see the front.

Her eyes widen.

It read, “Welcome home, mum.”


	5. Just In Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Calypso's and Gaster's disappearance, River Person raised Papyrus and Sans. Asgore delivered a package to the family in which had Calypso's notes. River Person came up with an idea for Sans to focus on a new home. The short Skeleton uses the opportunity to start his own project.

_While River Person raise Papyrus, Sans worked part-time with the laboratory for a few years. Asgore found blueprints to Calypso’s vacation house for Snowdin and mailed it to River Person. On that night, they present it to Sans after he came back from his shift._

_“Tra la la! A mail from our King.”_

_Papyrus was doing his word-search homework in the living room._

_Sans raise and eyebrow before opening the package. Immediately, he had a pained look in his eyes. There were files and drawings from his mum. Her notes and her handwriting kept her presence strong in his memories. Sans quickly calm down before River Person detected anything._

_“Oh, thanks,” he said. He slowly peeled the papers into one neat pile and started skimming through the journals._

_Calypso was never an architect, but she has a slight interest in interior design. Or just visual imagination._

_There were details in certain rooms. Most notes recorded her thoughts. The next one read:_

_“Skeleton bed for Papyrus? No, race car!” the notes said._

_When he turned the next page, his face blushed._

_It was a bedroom design for Calypso. It had a bed, desk, and a bookshelf. There was a note written on top of the bed. It read:_

_“Queen bed or twin bed? Not sure if I’ll marry a monster here…”_

_Sans sweat-dropped at his mum’s notes. River Person watched him as he sighed. They cocked their head to the side. They hummed in thought._

_“Sans. Maybe take a break from your job. We can work on this house if you’d like.”_

_Sans glanced at them. He looked back at the floor plans. There was an idea for a basement, but it was scratched off. An idea popped into his mind._

_“I can’t experiment my Dark World magic at the lab with Alphys,” he thought, “What if I can make my own workshop?”_

_He turned to River Person and granted them a genuine smile. “Thanks, I could use a break.”_

_…_

_The wooden house was settled in Snowdin. Papyrus graduated the monster high school and bid farewell to River Person. He and his brother moved to Snowdin where the house was finally finished. Papyrus gleamed and ran in. While he was looking around, Sans slowly walked up the stairs._

_In his plans, he help the monster constructors build the house and the outdoor shed. There were three bedrooms. He purposefully meant one for each family member, including his missing mum._

_Young Sans was optimistic with finding her again. Since the underground forgot about Gaster and Calypso, his memories of her were fading. Luckily, he had her smartphone and his rejuvenating Dark World energy._

_The second bedroom was for his mum. As Papyrus was struck with awe of his racecar bed, Sans teleported into the hidden bedroom. HE doesn’t want Papyrus to question the empty bedroom, especially when Papyrus couldn’t remember Calypso’s face anymore._

_In his hands, Sans held a yellow envelope. He walked to the desk and took out a pen. He pulled out a few papers in the envelope. The first one was a drawing made by Papyrus. There were figures of crayon scribbles that represents certain people. The first one is Sans in one side. On the second side, there was a tallest figure holding Papyrus. Her hair was colored red and brown. Her arms were draped over Papyrus’ form._

_Sans smiled at his brother’s messy drawing. Papyrus was a toddler when he drew that. Before Calypso disappeared with Gaster’s lab._

_He sighed and pulled the second paper from behind the drawing. The second sheet held journal entries of Sans. All had irregular time gaps. Varying from one month to a year. Sans wasn’t uptight about writing his diary, but he would write notes about his progress in the Underground._

_The first entry was questioning the disappearance of Mum. He confessed to the paper that he made up a story about Calypso going out for milk and search for the holy monster cow. The second entry was Papyrus walking his first steps. The third log was centered about River Person being a nice caretaker. The rest were drabbles of small slice-of-life incidents._

_Sans wrote those short entries in one sheet of paper. There was enough space to write one more._

_“Hey, mum._

_I finished the house. The machine is built, so I’ll borrow your phone to experiment. I’ll use my energy to power the machine, but don’t worry, I’ll be sure to eat. Sorry about that. Once I bring you home, I’ll show you your new bedroom and you can nag me later. Papyrus can’t remember your face anymore, but he still remembers you. Always bonetrousling you, Sans.”_

_He slips the journal entries and Papyrus’ drawing to the envelope. There was a golden pin that secures it. He bent it and left it on the desk._

_“Sans?! Where are you? I’m going grocery shopping!” Papyrus yelled._

_“Coming bro!”_

_Sans took a last look of the secret bedroom before he turned off the lamp._

The yellow envelope fell to the floor. In the present, Calypso had open and read the journal entries.

Without warning, the haunting singing hovered over her hearing. The woman knows no one is around her. Her eyes watered. Her legs weakened.

Slowly, her body slump to her knees and to the floor. Her grip on the papers tightened. Her tears landed on Papyrus’ crayon drawing.

“This can’t be. This place…” she whispered, “These aren’t my sons.”

Her mind was in a panic. Immediately, her subconscious took over. Her eyes and mouth darkened. Clouds slowly seeped out of her.

Two ancient beings detected her energy. One made of negative feelings and the other with a positive soul. They made their way to her.


	6. Mind Blown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream found Calypso. She is tired over his attachment to Stradakum. Upon discovery of her true sons, her state of mind is manipulated by Nightmare.

“Stradakum?!”

Calypso opened her eyes. There was no ceiling. There were no walls. She’s not in the Skeletons' house anymore. She was in another space. It was colored soft grey-beige. Usually, there was a bubble with clouds everywhere. Like in her dreams.

Dream was hovering over her. He gaped happily. There were tears brimming on the edge of his eye sockets.

Since Stradakum’s death, Dream never thought to see her again. Until Nightmare first encountered with Calypso years ago. After Calypso’s first interaction with the negative creature, her Dreamscape became accessible to Dream. The positive Guardian found traces of her in new timelines.

Ink told Dream that every Calypso is not the same person, but Dream knew that there was only one of her. So did his brother.

“I’m so happy I reached you again!” he said, “I sensed you in other timelines, but they were so negative! Or you disappeared-!”

Her hand reached out and took hold of his collar. Her thumb grip on the tie of his yellow ascot. She pulled him close and frowned. He sensed negative feelings spiraling within her.

There was a mix of happiness, denial, and guilt. The negative is slowly dominating.

“You keep calling me that,” she said, “But I’m not her.”

She granted him a slight push and rise to her feet.

There were no clouds or bubbles. “This is still my Dreamscape, right?” she asked.

Her head turn to Dream. The positive Guardian nodded. He sensed a wave of calm taming her emotions. Her habit of observation distracted her.

She tapped her cheek in thought. “If the clouds aren’t here. Then something must’ve taken over my body.” She remembered a few occasions in which she faints. After waking up, Calypso would find out that she had an episode. Something had taken over her body. She first noticed it happen in the Underfell timeline. In conclusion, Calypso realized that Stradakum’s power is a defense mechanism for high-adrenaline situations.

The woman shook her head. “No, wait, I have to go back to my own body,” she thought, “I’m almost done with my research-.”

A sudden collection of fear froze her movements. The yellow envelope flashed through her mind. Memories of Papyrus’ crayon drawings and Sans’ journal paper increased her guilt.

Even though Gaster’s machine was the cause of her disappearance, the human felt like she was at fault. Dream noticed her bun unraveling.

“Wait. I can’t go home,” she said. Her voice started increasing. “Papyrus. I missed his childhood!”

Although Dream doesn’t hear it, the woman heard singing. The singing tortured her since she first teleported to the Underswap timeline. The chorus was clouding her hearing.

“My children are all grown up.”

She remembered leaving her red scarf to Papyrus before she went to Gaster’s lab for the final time. She promised him and Sans that she will return.

Dream widen his eyes, realizing what was going on. “Stradakum, wait-.”

“I’ve failed them-! I’ve abandoned them!” she shouted. “I’m a terrible mother!”

Soon, the grey void was clouded with a sick sensation of black. Dream’s form dimmed a soft glow. He looked for the source and froze.

Nightmare.

The smirking face of the negative entity had his smile reach to his cheeks. He cocked his head to Dream. “Guess you found her first,” he said, “But too bad. I still got her.”

Calypso felt a grip around her waist. A slimy tentacle pulled her to Nightmare. She noticed how her state of mind is reflected by the Dreamscape. It was all dark and scary. Hopelessness was draining her energy.

The last time Calypso escaped Nightmare, she thought about her little Papyrus. Upon discovering that Papyrus had grown up without her, the memory hurts. It holds guilt over her heart. She’s now lost to Nightmare, and away from Dream’s influence.

Dream reached out to her, “Stradakum!” His arms scramble to prepare his bow and arrow.

Nightmare turned to the limp human. He raised an eyebrow.

He happily remembers his work in destroying Stradakum the first time. How he trapped her and filled her with negative energy. She had interfered with his and Dream’s business. She was an obstacle to Nightmare’s goal ever since she was recruited by Dream.

Seeing Stradakum and Dream together boiled strong new feelings within Night. It continued to build up until he snapped and became Nightmare. After his transformation, he doesn’t remember his memories of Stradakum, but the feelings remain.

After his battle with Stradakum, Nightmare wasn’t satisfied. He had detected another similar aura outside the multiverse. There were no other Stradakum, no alternative versions of her, until he found the Delta Rune timeline. Nightmare came across it by accident. That’s where Calypso met Nightmare the first time.

However, seeing the human in his grasp now, there was something missing.

“Interesting. I could’ve sworn she had a soul before.” He seeped through her memories and grin to himself. “Oh, she lost it. But I can’t find where.”

Dream widen his eyes, hearing his brother’s analysis. He gulped before lowering down his bow and arrow. “If I can find her soul,” he thought, “then she’ll become whole again! Herself again!”

His form in Calypso’s Dreamscape was weakening. He must leave Calypso to follow his plans.

“Stradakum!”

Calypso’s eyes slowly gaze at Dream. He flinched at her dull expression. “I’ll bring you back to normal! I promise!”

Dream quickly disappeared. Nightmare frowned and shrugged. He turns to the woman. Her mind was occupied with self-depreciation.

“Well, I can’t kill you without your soul,” Nightmare said, “Your body will probably reborn to another timeline.”

One of his tentacles tilt her head by the chin. Nightmare felt proud of his work. Her eyes were completely dazed. Deeper than the gaze of Stradakum’s daydreaming citizens. “But I can still turn you insane.”

Tentacles pierced through her mouth and his slime coated her face. She began to struggle in his grip. He grinned madly.

“Wake up and wreak havoc in your precious timeline.”

The Dreamscape slowly faded. Nightmare opened his eyes and found himself back in his realm. His mental connection with Calypso broke. He traced her presence and found the timeline she was in. He opened a window out of thin air and watched Calypso wake up. He frowned at the timeline.

Calypso is in the true Pacific Timeline of Undertale. It is heavily guarded by Ink and Error Sans. Nightmare sighed. “Heh, I can’t go in there,” he mumbled. The sly smirk remained on his face. “Guess I’ll watch her from here.”

He will use her as a doll for his entertainment in the meantime. Until another guardian interferes.


	7. Change of Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare's influence on Calypso is making her change her course of action. A local monster resident spies on her.

Calypso’s clouds were roaming about the underground. Her head was covered by a thick cloud as she sat in the middle of the room. She was still in the Skeletons’ old house. Beside her, there was the yellow envelope with the crayon drawing and Sans’ paper.

Slowly, Calypso’s eyes were back to normal. Her conscious returned, however, a hazy sensation layers over her eyes. Nightmare, behind an opening, had a dark smile on his face. However, it strained when he noticed a change in her appearance. It reminded him of Stradakum.

There was another change. Usually, when Calypso wakes up, the clouds disappeared. After Nightmare’s influence, it awoke a new element of Stradakum’s power. While other small clouds faded, one cloud covered her head.

Her state is similar tor the lost souls. For monsters, a layer of white pixels covered for faces. For Calypso, who didn’t have the soul at the moment, had a cloud.

The underground was bare and empty again. Her feet took one step forward. Around her, the Snowdin slowly transferred to the hotlands. The buildings remain abandoned and quiet. The cold wind soon changed into sounds of hissed lava. The color of the atmosphere switched from blue to orange-red.

In the hotlands, the lava was strong as ever. There was no dimming areas in its bright lakes. Calypso stroll through the abandoned buildings. The dormitories and the soul extraction machine wasn’t her top priority. Calypso was focused on a single area.

She walked through the building and took the elevator. The CORE system was still operating. When she reached the last floor, she stepped outside and gaze at the sight before her.

The long bridge.

Reminiscing her memories, she could see herself having a fond moment with the original Gaster. That was when he first made her laugh. That was where she thought she could settle down with him. Maybe.

Until he activated the machine. Nightmare’s hold on her became intense.

Her gloves hands clutched into fists. Her magic started reacting to her emotions.

The building that held Gaster’s laboratory was gone. It was in ruins. The discovery made matters worse. She was planning on wrestling answers from him. She never knew the outcome of all royal monster scientists. The people who activated the accursed box machine, whether it was a Gaster, Lab Person, Undyne, Alphys, or whoever monster, they weren’t by her side again. Calypso would wake up lost and alone.

In a new timeline.

How come she was the only one transported to a new world? What happened to the former royal scientists?

Why is she forced to face new timelines alone?

Nightmare’s influence on her had clouded her logic. Feelings of jealousy, rage, and disappointment fueled her drive. After seeing Gaster’s laboratory and the building destroyed, she had a change of plans.

The lava illuminated Calypso’s intense look. She was standing in the middle of the bridge, looking down. The light contrasted her angry gaze. Her eyes narrowed and her hands clench into fists.

In her encounter with XTale, she remembered the power of the Reset. Someone else may have that power in the current timeline. So, if Gaster is still missing, then the next person might be-.

“Frisk.”

In a dark room, a door had opened. The lights from the hallway seeped in. A silhouette stood in the doorway. A gloved hand reached out and raise the dim light switch. The soul extraction machine loomed in the ceiling. The machine’s eye sockets gaze back to her with an eerie aura.

“If this is the correct timeline, then this must be done right,” she said, “I must start over.”

Calypso was looking for a new instrument. Her next goal is to obtain the Reset ability, by any means necessary.

From afar, a golden flower tried to peek into a window. Trying to move through the dirt surrounded by lava was no easy task. The monster flower squinted before having a worried expression.

“Strange, I didn’t see anyone fall in earlier,” Flowey said. He noticed her face covered in a thick floating cloud. “Is she a new monster?”

He noticed her powering the soul extraction machine. The lights in the room illuminated the machine. He gasped and glanced at the dark ceiling of the underground. He took another glimpsed and saw Calypso cast a spell in midair. He saw a magic circle plant itself onto the machine, setting a protection barrier.

“I have to warn Frisk!” he said. He dived himself into the ground.


	8. Havoc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flowey visits Frisk. Sans couldn't sleep again in the morning and had a series of unexpected visits.

It was four o-clock in the morning. Flowey flopped his leaves and his face to a window. On the other side, Frisk was sleeping soundly in their bed. Flowey tried hitting the window again, but the _thumps_ were too soft. He groaned in frustration before noticing a rock garden nearby.

A loud _shatter_ of glass followed soon after. Frisk jumped and turn to their window. It was broken with a small pebble. Flowey extended their head into their room. A leaf waved in greetings.

“Whoops, I still don’t know my own strength,” he said, with a wink. Frisk was surprised to see him again. Flowey granted only brief visits in the surface. After the child had liberated the underground, Flowey was the only monster who stayed behind.

“Frisk, we have a problem.”

…

It was four o-clock in the morning. Sans woke up at that time. There was no responsibility to take care of, but he had a minor nightmare. It involved Calypso.

He sighed to himself and poured himself a cup of warm milk. He took sips through the hour, watching the early morning news in the living room. He gazed at the small gift from Asgore. The Minima succulent gave him the shivers.

The window glass was knocked. Sans glanced and spat out his milk.

Keep in mind, the Skeletons have rented their apartment on a third floor. Frisk is at the window, waving. They were sitting on Flowey’s thick green stem. Flowey had a frown on his face, not wanting to see Sans again.

Sans pinched the bridge between his eyeholes and sighed. He walked over and open the window. He looked down and noticed Flowey extended his flower body from the ground up.

“Come in.”

Right when Frisk entered the living room, Flowey extended on of his green veins to wrap around their arm. Slowly, their body from the ground descended to a normal flower size. Flowey is now fully attached to the child’s arm. Sans noticed a furrowed look on their face.

Frisk told Sans they have a new problem in their hands.

Sans walked to the kitchen and poured another batch of warm milk for Frisk. The feeling of the warm mug soothed his mental tension. “There’s a problem every day, kid,” he sighed. The nightmare was bothering him.

He walked back to the living room and gave the cup to the child. “What is it?” he asked.

Flowey glanced at the succulent on the coffee table. He narrowed his eyes at it. The succulent is planted on a cloud-shaped pot. It reminded him of Calypso’s cloud head.

The child ambassador glanced at the mug. They tilt it and took a sip. They told Sans that it’s about the new stranger. Flowey saw her in the underground.

Calypso is turning on the Soul Extraction machine.

Sans’ eye sockets turned dark completely. “Mum-?! Er, Cal-? That Calypso?”

Frisk nodded. Flowey pitched in with a hesitant pace. “Yeah, I think she’s a mage. Her head was covered with a weird fog?”

Frisk turned to Sans. They told him they must stop Calypso.

Sans sweat-dropped, “Do you think she might hurt someone?”

Flowey frowned. “She is powering a machine that sucks up human souls!” he screeched, “She could be a start of another human-monster race!”

Sans hushed him before glancing at the hallway. There was a following moment of peaceful silence. Looks like Papyrus is still asleep. The short Skeleton sighed in relief.

There was a sound of a small clatter. Everyone flinched. Sans eyelights appeared again. Flowey and Frisk turn to the coffee table. The cloud pot had shifted. One of the petals of the succulent flinched slightly.

Immediately, Flowey sent his energy bullets to the plant. However, as it reached, a holographic barrier protected the pot from the attack. Sans raise an eyebrow, “Wait, a bubble barrier-?”

One of the succulents immediately stretched towards Frisk before their eyes.

A large _slashing_ motion was made.

Flower fell to the carpet, seeing his plant body cut off from Frisk. He hissed in pain while Frisk felt Flowey’s leftover stems fall from their arm.

Without warning, Sans saw a pair of arms reaching towards Frisk. There was a portal behind the couch.

“How long was that there?!” he thought.

Calypso pulled Frisk into the portal. The succulent flew into the portal by itself.

Sans reached to her and shouted, “Mum! No!”

The portal closed before his hand touched Frisk’s shoe. The pair of humans are gone. Sans slumped on the couch.

It all happened so fast. He turned to Flowey and the flower frowned at him. “You should’ve killed her already!” Flower shouted. One of his veins expanded to the mug and drank the milk. His energy was increased. His roots regenerated.

Flowey stretched and turn his flower head to Sans. “You’re going to explain the ‘mum’ thing later.”

The monster flower extended his roots to the window. He turned his flower head and rolled his eyes at the short Skeleton. He sighed heavily, “Come on. Now I’m helping you with your mess.”


	9. Tantrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso powers the Soul Extraction machine. Flowey and Sans are on their way to save Frisk. Sans learns about her pain. Flowey thought of another way to deal with Calypso.

Frisk was squirming in Calypso’s arms. She walked calmly to the metal table by the machine. Frisk flinched when they saw the familiar Soul Extraction machine looking over the room. In their adventures in the underground, there was a disturbing feeling that haunts it.

The child squirmed harder.

Calypso frowned and placed them on the metal table. “I’ve handled squirmier kids than you,” she said. She was referring to young Papyrus. Frisk felt cloth straps onto their wrists and legs. Calypso stroll over to the computer by the machine.

Sweat appeared on the child’s forehead as they hear Calypso type. There was a monitor nearby where the woman was staring at. Frisk tried to peek but couldn’t angle their head for a better view. Calypso’s poncho was blocking the screen. She started chatting.

“It’s nothing against you,” she said, “I don’t really care about politics, like humans vs. monsters.”

Flowey and Sans teleported to the CORE room. Sans tried shutting the power down, but he couldn’t move any switches. Any touch made a holographic barrier appear. It glowed a dim purple before the barrier was invisible again.

Frisk glanced at their straps, wiggling again. They heard her voice continue. “I would like to thank you though, for taking care of all the monsters here,” Calypso said, “And with the Skeletons. I can tell you’re a good friend to Papyrus.” She aligned Frisk’s body under the machine.

Sans attempted to destroy the CORE with his Gaster Blaster, but the barrier was unaffected. He huffed as his energy was decreasing. Flowey sighed in frustration. “This isn’t working!” he screeched.

Frisk noticed the woman’s glare. She added, “But I know about the resets.” They gulped. She gave the child a soft smile. “Not from you though, but from other timelines.” Calypso was referring to XTale Frisk, but classic Frisk couldn’t understand her.

Calypso’s hand hovered over the activation button. “Since you’re not using it, I’ll borrow your soul and reset this timeline.”

A soft smile stretched to her cheeks. “Then, I can save my little boys again.” Frisk tried to convince her that her plans might not work. The woman ignored them. Nightmare’s power is shaping her actions.

Before Calypso pressed the activation button, there was a slashing motion. She looked down and saw a red mark across her chest. She raised her head and saw a green vine with thorns.

Flowey’s vines wrap around her body. Thorns stabbed her skin.

A familiar voice shouted, “Flowey, no!” Sans had teleported the Soul Extraction room.

The flower snarled back, “She’s going to hurt Frisk!”

Sans watched in horror as Calypso coiled in pain. Blood drips at her elbows. Her poncho had small blood stains scattered.

Soon, Calypso remembered the trauma from the Horror timeline and the resets of the XTale. Her magic reacted on her body.

She thought to herself, “This is nothing-!”

Soon after, Calypso teleported. She stood far from the flower. Flowey and Sans rush to the child on the metal table.

Calypso’s gloved hands dipped into the charcoal powder from her fanny pack. Her fingers drew multiple magic circles into thin air. The circles were outlined with the black charcoal until her magic lighten into purple.

Flowey shot her with his energy pellet attacks. Her magic circles created shields over her. Flowey raise more thorny vines towards her from the ground. A couple of bright beams were shot from her circles and cut the vines off.

Calypso hugged herself. Her hair was becoming undone. Her brown wavy hair flowed over her shoulders. “I’ve went through so many timelines-!” she said. Tears were at the corner of her eyes. “…to get back here again.”

Frisk stiffened when they saw the pained look on her face. Their vision was blocked by Flowey who cut the straps easily. Sans guarded them while facing Calypso. He was unsure to summon his Gaster Blaster on her.

The cloud was slowly fading from Calypso’s head. Her face was revealed.

“I’ve gone through so many experiments-. So many Resets!” she said, standing straight, “My kids are grown up now. They don’t need me.”

Sans widened his eyes. “Re-Resets?”

Tears slid down her cheeks. “Just let me start over!”

She summoned a small portal by her shoulder. Another portal appeared by Frisk’s body. The woman’s hand used the portals to drag Frisk’s table towards the Soul Extraction Machine. Another portal hovered over the button and her other hand slipped out. The machine started powering up.

She appeared in front of Frisk as the machine’s power illuminated her figure.

“Tell me, Sans, don’t you miss our old home?”

His eye sockets widen. He was in disbelief. His mother is going to hurt a little child.

As the machine whirred and point to Frisk, Flowey regenerated his roots and shouted to Sans. “Go help Frisk! I’ll fend her off!”

Sans nodded before lifting his hood over his head. He sprinted towards them for a second before teleporting. Just before the machine fired, Sans appeared above Calypso. He pushed her to the side before teleporting Frisk away.

Calypso reached for them but felt her legs bounded. She glanced down and found vines breaking through the floor tiles. It wrapped around her legs.

Sans noticed and stopped. “Flowey! Wait-!”

Flowey winked at them, “I don’t have a soul, so I’ll be okay!”

A large beam hit Calypso and Flowey. A flash of light blinded Sans and Frisk.


	10. Reunited Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso discovers Stradakum's memories and their fusion. Nightmare hunts for another target.

Calypso opened her eyes and saw a soft beige-grey space around her. In front of her, there was a small cloud. She reached for the cloud and was sucked into a vision.

She opened her eyes and found herself hovering over a memory. Stradakum’s memory.

The deity wore her signature grey nightgown and a cloud on her head. Her hair was kept in a long braid. Her face couldn’t be seen through to the thick cloud.

Stradakum was a being that balances the daydreams and fantasies of the townsfolk. There were patterns of clouds, bubbles, and succulents that are symbols of Stradakum.

The next scene was the deity’s power. She shaped offerings into orbs of light. The orb flies into the respective little cloud, the consciousness of the daydreamer. When the person doesn’t leave an offering, they’ll experience a paralyzing sensation to their limbs.

The reflection soon changed to another memory. Dream’s first encounter with Stradakum. They moved to his homeland where the Tree of Feelings resided.

In a casual day, Stradakum was leaning to Dream’s shoulder. He was happily talking while she seemingly nodded. Night was with them, glancing at his book before moving his eyes to her. When she turns her head and shoulders to him, he blushed a faint purple color and reverted his eyes. A few more days passed in a few seconds in front of Calypso. She finally watched how the deity perished.

A villager provoked Stradakum and led to a chain of events. Nightmare was born and battled with the her. Calypso watched as the deity was entangled with Nightmare’s tentacles and being overwhelmed by the negative emotions. Black ooze leaked out of her face before her form disappeared.

However, without warning, Stradakum turned into an orb of light. The orb of light flew through the multiverse and reached to the Delta Rune timeline. The orb later fused into a past Calypso’s sleeping form. It flew into her soul.

Soon, Calypso returned to the beige-grey space. The small cloud floated away.

“Stradakum has died and fused into me,” Calypso analyzed. The woman raised a hand to her chest.

A sudden memory of Nightmare probed her mind. During her capture, Nightmare said something about a soul. “Is- is my soul missing?”

Her eyes gaze around the space. The atmosphere was filled with clouds of different sizes and density. Due to the clouds, the aura around her felt comforting. She didn’t feel empty.

“Whoever Stradakum is, she’s a part of me now,” she said to herself, “But I’m not her.”

The singing started lingering around her. The clouds around her turned a darker shade of grey.

“I will find my way home. No more funny business.”

Gently, her form faded away as her conscious is returning.

…

Nightmare frowned at the window. He felt his hold on Calypso broke, like a string snapping apart. He closed the opening and stared into the darkness.

He can’t bring up the topic of Calypso to anyone. Most Sans have either been raised by her or interacted her, especially Error and Killer Sans. For now, he is fighting a silent battle with Dream.

Which reminds him, Dream promised her something. He disappeared right after Nightmare discovered Calypso's soul was missing.

“I guess I should hunt for her soul too,” he gleamed. Soon, his form fizzed away to another timeline.


	11. Sans' Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans had an unpleasant dream before Frisk's and Flowey's visit. (Flashback.)

_There was a small house next to a three-story house._

On the small house, there was a wooden fence around it. The fence was unusually high, as it reaches to the rooftop. Within the fence, there were tall flowers and vines growing onto the walls. There was a weird square opening, where the mailbox is. Above the mailbox, an address was written, “Mrs. and Mr. Skeletons, 420 Ace Drive.”

The house was always rowdy. There were sounds of zaps and soft thuds.

The three-story house had different conditions. There were no fences. By the front door, there was a patio with a wooden rocking chair. There were only two patches of garden by the front steps. Indoors, there was music playing. Different songs of any genre would play at random, from German Biblical metal remix, then cello, to “kawaii” lofi hits.

The Skeletons, when they first moved in, tried to figure out their neighbors’ background. Their high fence didn’t let them peek through the windows, and same goes for their neighbors-.

Except the girl who lives on the third floor of her parent’s house.

Calypso’s family lived on the tall house. She was in middle school when the Skeletons’ took residence on the small one-story place. She watched them build a high wooden fence, which took two years.

After the fence was built, the incident occurred.

Calypso, a high school student at the time, broke her curfew. She attended a birthday party for a friend. When it was raining, she was given a ride home. Calypso looked back at her friend and their parent. She waved them goodnight before seeing the car drive away.

The rain didn’t seize. Droplets dampen her dress. Calypso walked to the front door and knocked. She glanced up to her parents’ window. Their bedroom light turned on.

But later turned off.

Calypso’s heart raced. Her eyes widen in shock.

The girl waited for a few more minutes. Her ears didn’t capture any sounds of stairs creaking or footsteps pacing. She knocked the door a few times.

The sounds of the rain soothed her tension, but the silence in the house pained her heart. She was about to cry.

“Little witch?”

Calypso recognized Mr. Skeleton’s voice. That was his funny nickname for her. Calypso’s mother was infamously known as the witch of the neighborhood. The teenager turned and saw him with a flashlight. He had his working hat, trench coat, and briefcase in place. “My dark king!” he swore, “You’ll get a cold! Come inside!”

At the moment, Calypso could feel her mother’s “Stranger Danger” scolding. However, at the time where she needed her…

She glanced at the front door. There were no more sounds form within. Calypso sniffed.

She withdrew from the front door and followed Mr. Skeleton. That night, Mrs. Skeleton treated her with a blanket and a night snack for warmth.

In the Skeleton’s house, Calypso finally understood the random clumsy noises. The source was their son, baby Sans. That’s where she started babysitting him and their next child, Papyrus.

…

Sans was watching his life in a time lapse. He knew he was dreaming, but there was an eerie feeling. This memory wasn’t his. It was his human adoptive mother’s.

Sans thought to himself, “So why am I seeing this?”

Until the familiar scene occurred, he sensed another presence near him.

_Mrs. Skeleton handed baby Sans to young Calypso. The baby later fell into a quick slumber._

“I remember this.”

He jumped and turned. There was a person next to him. She was a brown-skinned woman with a thick, unkept bun. Her hair was dark brown. Her eyes slide from the memory to Sans’ eye sockets. Her eye color was black, not the usual soft dark-brown earthy stare.

“Mum?!”

She slightly shifted her body to him. She smiled, “You and your teleportation powers was causing so much trouble for your parents.” She glanced back to the memory. “I’ve always peeked from my window. Through your house, I saw Mrs. Skeleton trying to catch you in the air.”

A soft chuckle slipped from her lips. “Right when I first held you, you finally calmed down!”

The scene changed to the living room. _Young Calypso had her textbooks on the coffee table. Mrs. Skeleton went to work while Mr. Skeleton took a nap on the couch. The teenager was sitting on the floor doing her homework while toddler Sans chewed on a baby toy. The monster toddler later waddled to her and looked over the papers. She was working on English vocabulary and Spanish writing_.

“Don’t you miss our real home, Sans?”

His soul was shaking. Tears brim on his eye sockets. “I-I-!”

The current Calypso continued, “What about our friends? Kris, Asriel, Toriel-! Not the fakers here!”

“This timeline kinda grew on me-.” Sans took a step back. “Toriel here is the same-.”

Calypso later appeared in front of him. She knelt to his eye level. “So, you gave up?”

He froze.

“You gave up on me?”

A sudden rush of force burst from Calypso. Sans fell to the invisible ground. He felt her glare as a hood slowly lift itself onto Calypso’s head. She was wearing the same cloak on the day she disappeared.

The scenic memory slowly dimmed away into a black void.

“This isn’t the future I want for you,” she said, “where Papyrus forgot about me.”

A familiar red button glowed in front of her. Sans quickly reached out, “Mum! Wait!”

“You’re grounded.”

He noticed his droopy figure. He glanced at himself. His monster form was melting. He started calling for her. His voice was sounding distorted.

His eye lights watch in horror. Calypso’s hand reached for the Reset button.

…

Sans opened his eyes. His soul was shaking. The first thing he noticed was the ceiling. Next, the walls, then his room. He was laying in his bed.

He sat on the edge of the bed. The clock read, “4:00 AM.”

Sans rarely get nightmares. The dream occurred on the morning after Frisk met Calypso in the park.

“Maybe some warm milk will calm me down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, German Biblical metal remixes are a thing.


	12. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso recovers from Nightmare's influence. Papyrus greeted her with breakfast. Asgore has an appointment with Sans.

Calypso’s eyes fluttered open. Her recent recollection of Stradakum’s memories brought closure. It explains Nightmare’s pursue and Dream’s obsession with her. Her Dreamscape was the only available access, but sometimes, she saw herself in Error’s void at random. Either she was in his Dreamscape or her Dream form can explore other timelines.

That was part of Stradakum’s power, who is a part of Calypso now.

“But why?” Calypso thought, staring at the blank ceiling. “Why is she a part of me now?”

She sat up and glanced at the place. She was sleeping on a couch. There were two layers of thick blankets and one folded pillow for her head. On the walls, portraits of the Skeletons’ were posted.

On the coffee table, there was the cloud-potted succulent. It reminded her of her mother.

A loud clatter of a plate rolled on the kitchen floor. Calypso turned her head to the noise.

Papyrus was shaking. Her eyes trailed to the floor. There was spaghetti sprawled all over.

Suddenly, Papyrus threw himself over her. She felt his skull nuzzled to the crane of her neck. Her shoulders flinch at the encounter. Slowly, she relaxed.

Each Papyrus, no matter their alternate version or different personalities, has his own magic in every hug. She could feel her worries washed away. No guilt, not shame.

His arms tighten around her. She couldn’t bring herself to raise her arms to return the embrace. Her arms were asleep, feeling a static sensation.

“I- I thought,” the tall Skeleton started. His voice was cracking. “If I can make the perfect spaghetti, you would wake up.”

The surroundings around Calypso was deafening. She didn’t enjoy waking up in a new place, which was a reoccurring occasion during her travels. An urge to leave was large.

Papyrus noticed her lack of response and pulled away. “Do- Do you remember me?” He fidgets with his gloved hands. He was wearing oven mittens. “You’re at my apartment. Sans brought you here with Frisk two ago.”

Her eyes were becoming less dazed. “Days?” She felt like she was trapped in a dreadful nightmare for weeks.

Papyrus continued to ramble. “Sans brought you here yesterday morning. It looks like you were hurt. Flowey told me you both had a fight. Kinda sounds like a bad argument, but I’m glad everyone’s alright. Then Sans told me that you just needed a nap, but you haven’t woken up at all. So, I started making sure you were warm and wrapped you with my favorite scarf and-.” He paused. She glanced at him.

His eyes were brimming with tears.

“And then I realized,” he said. His mittens tidied the red scarf around her, “This was your scarf.”

Calypso blinked slowly.

“You gave it to me. I remember now. And your face too.”

His hands slide to her shoulders. “Do you remember m-me?”

Her eyes were no longer dazed. Her dark-brown eye color softens her stare. She nods.

He hugged her again, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to forget…”

Calypso couldn’t talk. She felt like her pain would flood from her voice. Tears blurred her vision and she closed them. Her dry eyes had her tears sting, making her cry more.

“Papyrus.”

She was surprised at her own voice. It was smooth and gentle.

“I don’t know what to really say.”

In the living room, the tall Skeleton and the woman exchanged a few reassuring words and more apologies. Papyrus remembered about his mess in the kitchen. He quickly rushed while Calypso moved her legs to the edge of the couch. She slowly regained her footing and stood straight. Her arms stretched forward, and her spine curved slightly. A series of bones cracking reached to the Skeleton’s ears. He blushed madly and glanced at her direction.

“Mum!” Her heart jumped when he called her that. “That’s not a nice bone-trustling sounds!”

Before she pried into his scolding, the front door opened. Sans walked in with a bag of groceries. “Oh, you’re up,” he said. He strolled over and checked her arms.

Her injuries from Flowey’s attacks were healed. No scars remain on her body.

He motioned her to lean closer. She followed and felt something slip passed her lips. It tasted sweet. She chewed and her energy status increased. She glanced at Sans’ hand and noticed monster candy.

“Paps said monster candy isn’t the best human medicine,” he said, “But you seem to love these in your sleep. They help you heal from Flowey’s attacks earlier.”

Sans teleported before appearing again. The grocery bags were gone. In his hands, he held the laundry basket. He planted it on the coffee table before he dug through the basket.

Papyrus noticed and yelled. “Oi! Don’t throw those to the floor!”

Papyrus quickly wiped the kitchen floor clean and ran to Sans. He started pulling his older brother away from the basket. “We must keep a good impression with our mum!”

A soft chuckle rumbled from the woman’s chest. They listened to her voice as she fell back to the couch. Sans quickly found the item and threw it to Calypso.

It was the black fanny pack. Calypso widen her eyes. She opened it and dug through the empty space. There was no charcoal sticks or powder. She can’t draw magic circles without it. Her portal magic is out of her reach.

“Your clothes were pretty dirty. Your pancho was kinda ripped and your fanny pack was filled with black powder and charcoal sticks, so I decided to do your laundry while you recovered.”

The mañanita. The one where XTale Papyrus gifted her.

XTale.

Her feelings went haywire. A vision of the crazed XTale Sans flashed through her eyes. Her heart began racing.

“Wh-Where is my pancho- mañanita?”

Sans winked, not sensing Calypso’s disturbance. “Toriel’s fixing it up. I visit her when I brought Frisk back. Then I got our groceries.” He strolled to the kitchen, “Mum, do you remember how to make tacos?”

Calypso smiled. Her heart slowed down. “Only with the right ingredients.”

Papyrus quickly had his eyes pop out. “You just woke up! You can’t eat tacos right away!”

She sweatdropped, “You were about to serve me spaghetti.”

“Yes! That is an exceptional breakfast!”

She sweatdropped. “Who raised you?” She walked to the laundry basket, picking up the clothes that Sans left on the floor.

Sans opened the fridge. “You gotta eat. We’re meeting an old friend later.”

Cal raise an eyebrow, “An old friend?”

…

Asgore was sitting on the lounge of his flower shop. By the front windows, the sign said, “Closed.” The flowers were watered, and the droplets gleamed. He had finished his duty for the day and relaxed at the table. There were three open seats.

The table was decorated with doilies and a single flower vase in the middle. On his side, a teacup with chamomile tea was placed on the doily. Another teacup was still full, recently served.

Asgore sweatdropped. He was expecting a visitor.

“Now where is that Skeleton?” he mumbled to himself.

Today was their afternoon meeting. They were supposed to talk about Calypso. About the sudden memories.

The door chimed. Asgore quickly beamed and turn to the front door. “Sans! You’re here-!”

He opened his eyes and met with a familiar set of sharp dark-brown eyes.

Sans pushed the front door and stepped to the step. Calypso took a step in. The sunlight seeped behind her, illuminating her figure. Her hair was in a braid. She was wearing a short tan-brown cardigan and a long flowy gray dress pants. Her eyes squint in delight.

Asgore started tearing up.

She greeted him back, “Hey, Flower King.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the COVID-19 situation, I decided to make my Warped Caretaker series to be public for non-official website members,


	13. Yeah, Like Frisk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A woman has a picnic with a few monsters and kids. Another monster makes a small chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the perfect ending songs for this chapter is “I Remember You” By VEELA and “His Theme (Undertale)” by SadSynth 
> 
> YouTube URLS:  
> https://youtu.be/zVJhBDV74f4  
> https://youtu.be/ykvNPmzRgAY

The sky was bright, rich blue. White, fluffy clouds enjoyed each other’s company as they float to their own direction.

A red frisbee was thrown to a picnic blanket. A hand took and chuck it into the air. Frisk caught it and gave the person a thumbs up. The pitcher waved to them in acknowledgement before she glanced at the clouds again.

Her eyes trace the outline of the white fluff.

“I wonder if Stradakum can change the weather,” Calypso thought. “Wait, her clouds are people’s daydreams.” She glanced at Frisk, who was playing Frisbee with other kids. “Maybe, if I experiment-.”

The wind flew through her. Her cardigan flowed gently before resting to her sides again. Calypso adjusted her long skirt before feeling her feet asleep. She stood up and stretched. “No, I should stop thinking like that,” she mumbled.

A closer shuffling was near.

“Howdy!”

She turned and saw the goat monster approach with a picnic basket. Asgore, tall as ever, smiled and greeted her. “I brought a pitcher of tea,” he said, “and some scones-. But don’t worry! I brought other snacks for you.”

Cal chuckled, “Thanks. Don’t like scones very much.” He sat on the blanket and start setting the food. His claws brought out the pitcher before small doilies. Cal beamed at the set-up. She took a doily to her view and gasped happily, “These are cute!! I love the purple!”

Asgore gleamed back, “You’re welcome! Toriel made these for you as thanks for today’s picnic. You can keep them after this.”

Cal’s fingers trace over the knitting patterns. “It’s so soft,” she said, “Like the clouds.”

Since her recovery from the underground, Cal didn’t have any more nightmares. No more mental visits from Dream of Nightmare either. The woman sat with Asgore and set the doily down.

“The Skeletons should be here soon-.”

Sans and Papyrus teleported by the picnic table. They had plastic bags in their clutches. “Here’s the lunch takeout,” he winked. He helped Asgore with the food distribution while Papyrus tackled Calypso.

“Hello again, mum! It’s been so long!”

“You just saw me last night.”

He pulled back and gleamed, “I know! I just miss you.” He glanced at the kids and noticed their Frisbee game. “Oh, Human!” he shouted. He sprinted away to another group, “Frisk! Let me join!”

Calypso sighed in relief., rubbing her arms. The gentle wind tickled her neck. Sans glanced at her and noticed the tattoo on the back of her neck. It was an X-Mark.

He noticed she was deep in thought. She was spacing out ever since she returned.

Before the Gaster incident, Calypso had spoken her thoughts aloud. Always with impulsive rambling. In their old house, her voice would occupy the hallways. Maybe it started when Sans started having separation anxiety to her during his elementary school.

The short Skeleton shook his head from his memories. He stood and walk to Calypso. She kept her eyes on the kids.

“You know,” Sans started, “You could always move in with us. Paps doesn’t like you staying at the motel.”

The woman nodded, “Yeah, I know.” She watched the tall Skeleton jump in the air and catch the red Frisbee. Her jaw tightened.

“Sans.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you happy in this timeline?”

Sans shrugged, “Yeah.”

A heavy sigh slipped from her lips.

Sans lay his hand on the top of her head. She furrowed her eyebrows.

Since their teatime with Asgore, Sans learned bits and pieces behind Calypso’s disappearance. Calypso wasn’t willing to share every detail about every timeline she traveled to, but she explained the concept of the Dark Magic in-between the alternate universes.

He knows that she is still adjusting with the current place.

“You don’t feel like staying, do you?” Sans asked.

Calypso closed her eyes. “You might be fine with this timeline, but I’m not.”

She reached for his hand and held his wrist. Her hands were bare and gloveless.

“I was a babysitter to Skeletons like you. Then a prisoner, and a target a few times.” She narrowed her eyes. “I was even a Royal Guard.”

Asgore sighed before nudging the woman with the teacup. “Cal, before you came back, I thought I was the only one with a heavy burden,” he said. Calypso released Sans and took the tea. Sans continued standing, looking at the monsters and humans playing Frisbee.

The goat monster continued, “But now I see that.” He paused. “… we both have troubles, coping with the peace.” A gentle wind blew through his blonde hair. “Believe me when I say this, it’ll get better.”

He took a sip and smiled. “And don’t forget. You promised to be my number one customer.”

The human glanced at the teacup. The golden color and the chamomile scent soothed her.

Papyrus glanced at the picnic area. Sans signaled to Frisk and the kids for lunch. They ran towards him, eager to eat. Asgore and Calypso raise their cups high to avoid the momentum spilling their drink.

Frisk found it as the perfect opportunity to sit on Calypso’s lap. The woman commented, “Oi, kid!”

Sans’ grin spread wider with a giggle. He handed Frisk a plate of chow mein and shrimp.

Calypso set her tea to the side and took a plate for herself. The sounds of side talk and munching felt familiar. Like her lunch breaks with the XTale guards.

She shivered slightly. Even though she’s back with her sons, she feels an occasional stare.

Her cheek was poked. Her eyes glanced down.

Frisk forced a fork of chow mein to her. Calypso snorted and almost choked, laughing.

“Maybe Asgore’s right,” she thought, munching. “I just need to relax.” She ruffled the child’s hair as comeback.

The group of monsters and humans enjoyed their picnic lunch as the afternoon passes.

Soon, Frisk fell into a quick nap with a full stomach. Calypso held them in bridal style as the group disbanded for the night. She watched as Asgore and Sans packed the picnic. She felt Frisk’s heartbeat and held them close.

A small flower popped by the ground. “Howdy!” it greeted.

Calypso glanced at Flowey, “Oh, hi.”

Flowey winked at her. “So, one soulless being to another,” he said, “Do you remember how you lost your soul?”

The woman shrugged. “I don’t really know. No one told me anything.” Her head ran through the recent timelines. “Although it explains a lot of things.”

Flowey tilt his flower head to the side. “Oh yeah? How so?”

“Well, I was hiding and on the run in each timeline. It was always about a human soul. Find me, trap me, but something always happens in the end.”

“Oh. I didn’t expect that.”

“What do you mean?”

Flowey looked to the side. “I mean, you started as a normal human, right? That type of stuff could drive anyone mad. But here you are, like nothing happened.”

Frisk stirred in her arms. She rocked gently and shrugged. She glanced at the sky, which had shades of pink and purple. “Yeah, but,” she paused, “just because I don’t have a soul, doesn’t mean I should be a jerk.”

Flowey furrowed his eyebrows. “You’re different. Like Frisk.”

The woman hears Papyrus running back to the group. He found the lost Frisbee from a tree. Flowey noticed the monsters approaching. He popped into the ground and disappeared.

Calypso slightly nodded, turning away. She was wearing the patched-up tan-brown mañanita. It swayed gently with the wind. “Yeah,” she mumbled.

  
One of her hands clutched at the mañanita. For a moment, her mind reverted to XTale Papyrus. Her eyes shifted to the napping kid on her arms, “like Frisk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading the Warped Caretaker series! There will be a filler book that shares Calypso's travels after the Undertale to alternate universes, including the Horror timeline. It will be more than 13 chapters long. 
> 
> NOTE: Depending on the Delta Rune game, there will be more books. If you like a happy ending, I recommend you read this as your last book of the series.
> 
> Happy reading and take good care of yourselves!


	14. The Sierpinski's Gasket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The laboratory in the void was paid a visit. The host realized the state of another timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cal doesn't know the official names of AU, so she nicknamed XTale as X-Mark or X-Scribbles.

Her Artificial Intelligence, Cuz, greeted a portal with his mechanical hands. “Welcome back, creator!”

A glowing circle was floating an inch above the floor. A woman stepped through. Her mañanita swayed a bit. Some parts were stitched together and some areas had patches.

Calypso narrowed her eyes. “How long was I gone?”

Cuz replied, “A second. You left and now you’re back.”

“What?! I was gone for months!” she thought. Calypso rubbed the back of her neck. “Right,” she said, “Okay.”

Time doesn’t apply to her pocket of void. This space houses her portal experiments and haven from the timelines.

Since Calypso’s meltdown, influenced by Nightmare, she spent more time in the Undertale timeline. She was debating on settling down or finding a way back to the Delta Rune timeline.

“Cuz, show me my Gasket.”

The largest monitor hung in the middle of the laboratory. Under it was an armchair. She sat and watched the screen change from her robot’s face to a triangle. There were three internal triangles. Each had coordinates. However, each node represents a timeline. Some were not labeled but held coordinates.

The first node is the Undertale Timeline. The second node is the Underfell timeline. The third node is the Underswap. From within, other timelines, or alternate universes, were plotted into more triangles. Two points remain outside the triangle. The Delta Rune and the Dreamtale universe.

Calypso had a notepad in hand. She learned about Dreamtale through Stradakum’s memories.

She tried plotting the Delta Rune into the triangle, but the factor of the Dark World civilization and Kris was too great. In other timelines, there was no mention of them.

The woman sighed and glanced at her notepad again. There were triangles with a few cross marks. Her eyes linger on the X’s. Her right hand doodled XTale Papyrus.

“Maybe I can pay a visit to my old royal guards,” she thought. Her migraine was fading away.

“Your quietness is too long, creator.” A mechanical arm reached out and poke on the notepad. “You should write down your thoughts.”

“Cuz, open my records on the X-Mark Timeline.”

The monitor displayed pages of her writing. Her eyes skimmed through. She mumbled aloud as she read,

“The therapy, military training. Promotion to the Royal guard, then Sans’ attacks on Frisk, and the Resets.”

Her hands reach and massage her temples. “Hopefully their Reset situation is over.”

The armchair creaked slightly as she climbs out from the armchair. On the doorway, there was a wall filled with scratch marks and charcoal tally marks. Her hand dipped into her fanny pack and felt the charcoal powder.

She drew a circle on the blocked doorway. “Abrense.”

The portal opened. She turned to the monitor. “Cuz, I’m checking the X-Scribbles timeline. I’ll be back-.”

Her eyes gaze into the opening. There was no sky. No green-grey grass or golden flowers. She stepped entered the portal. Her eyes bounced around.

“It’s all empty,” she said, “Like a void. There’s nothing here.” Her voice echoed. She ran back to her portal and stepped into the lab. The portal closed at her command.

Calypso ran to the monitor and read her file. “Cuz, I summoned the wrong portal.”

The screen made an exclamation mark. “That is incorrect. Your portal destination is telepathically linked to you.”

Calypso drew another circle. The portal glowed purple and enlarge to her size.

Cuz continued explaining, “Whatever the portal is displaying…”

Calypso widen her eyes at the white space.

“… is your correct destination.”

Her teeth clenched at the sight. Her hands clenched at her patched-up mañanita.

“I- I'll look into this later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Calypso may be messing with someone else's plans while trying to find the Delta Rune timeline.


End file.
